Top Te Awamutu College students excel across sport, culture and academia

Kōwhai House leader Connor Storey holds the AG Freeman Rosebowl for Interhouse Supremacy aloft beside co-leader Jasmine Ikin as other hosue leaders look on. Kōwhai won the College Cup for Softball, the College Trophy for Badminton, the College Trophy for Touch Rugby, the College Trophy for Football and the Lenco Cup for Netball. Photo / Dean Taylor

Cultural and Special Awards:

Sean Embling Trophy for Contribution to Music in Year 11, Emerson Berry; Page Trophy for Most Improved Vocalist, Jessica Ward; Berquist Trophy for Vocalist of the Year, Isabelle Cook; Mad Cow Drum Award for Most Improved Drummer, Oliver Gold; George Brooks Trophy for Most Improved Musician, Liam Hollinshead; Derbyshire Trophy for Instrumental Soloist, Stephanie Hill; Rob Pye Trophy for Outstanding Pianist, Sophie Yarndley; Hamilton Piano Award for Musical Performance, Danica Reweti; The Owen Joyce Cup for Contribution to Music, Asarina Johnson; Drama Department Award for Outstanding Performance - Senior, Isabelle Cook; The Little Theatre Cup for Contribution to Drama, Laura Purves; Outstanding Technical Support for School Production and Events, Daniel Hoskin; Baird Trophy for Outstanding Contribution to Dance, Mariana Puarere; Emma Awards for the Arts - Outstanding Achievement, Contribution and Leadership: Visual Arts, Wiki Witehira; Drama, Emily Brown; Music, Asarina Johnson; Dance, Arati Rutherford; Senior Public Speaking Cup, Avleen Kaur; Norris Hall Cup - Best Debater, Avleen Kaur; Significant Leadership of Maori and Pasifika Achievement and Success: Aaria Gregory-McIlroy, Stephanie Hill, Mariana Puarere, Manea Purua, Georgie Rewha, Caelyn Robson, Haevyn Takataka, Eternal Te Moananui, Michaela Tumohe, Tawhaki Waaka; Te Awamutu College Trophy - Outstanding Contribution to Kapa Haka, Manasseh Morgan; Quay Award - Learning Support Centre Award for Participation and Success, Briar Hopkins; Soanes Senior Environmental Leader Trophy, Taylor Lincoln; Greatest Involvement with Te Awamutu College by a Patricia Avenue Student, James Shailer; Cultural Excellence - Waikato Culinary Fare 2023, Olivia Bell.

Sport awards:

JG Williamson Trophy - Most Valuable Player Boys 1st XV Rugby, Ryan Baillie; Te Awamutu College Trophy - Most Valuable Player Girls Hockey, Annalise Cossey; Sanders Cup - Senior Boys Cross Country Champion, Cody Davis; Lambeth Trophy - Senior Girls Swimming Champion, Henderson Trophy - Best All Round Swimmer, Breanna Doig; Te Awamutu College Trophy - Intermediate Boys Athletics Champion, Fleck Cup - Intermediate Boys Cross Country Champion, Rico Dorssers; Te Awamutu College Trophy - Intermediate Girls Athletics Champion, Ruth Downs; Te Awamutu College Trophy - Most Valuable Player Boys 1st XI Cricket, Lucas Duncan; Te Awamutu College Trophy - Intermediate Girls Swimming Champion, Lilah Earwaker; Te Awamutu College Trophy - Most Valuable Player Girls Lacrosse, Mia Ellis; Te Awamutu College Trophy - Most Valuable Player Girls Football, Kaitlyn Evemy; Te Awamutu College Trophy - Most Valuable Player Boys Basketball, Stephan Grobbelaar; Te Awamutu College Trophy - Intermediate Boys Swimming Champion, AJ Howarth; Cottrell Cup - Intermediate Girls Cross Country Champion, Lily James; Te Awamutu College Trophy - Most Valuable Player Boys Hockey, Eoin Kelly; Murray Green Cup - Best Male Athlete, Daniel Kits; Te Awamutu College Trophy - Intermediate Boys Swimming Champion, Cullen Miezenbeek; Te Awamutu College Trophy - Most Valuable Player Boys Lacrosse, Floyd Owen; Gordon Cup - Best All Round Athlete, Sanders Trophy - Most Valuable Player Girls Rugby, Sienna Sanders; Te Awamutu College Trophy - Senior Girls Athletics Champion, Linton Cup - Best Female Athlete, Kate Shannon; McFall Cup - Senior Girls Athletics Champion, Norah Smith Award – MVP Girls Premier Netball, Kera Tervit; Grant Bain Memorial Trophy - Senior Boys Swimming Champion, Sam Waugh; Grant Cockburn Memorial Trophy - Most Valuable Player Boys Football, Logan Whale.

Sports Excellence Badge — achievements at Waikato Secondary School or higher level: Casey-Lee Baker, Rowing, Girls Under 18 Doubles; Emily Bathgate, Sailing, Burgess Trophy - Waikato/Thames Valley Secondary Schools Championship Placegetter; Livia Bigham, Lacrosse, Under 18 Girls National Champion; Milla Botha, Powerlifting, Multiple New Zealand Record Holder; Josh Chisholm, Gymnastics, Waikato Senior Men’s Team; Eva Davis, Equestrian, Waikato Pony Club Eventing Team;Breanna Doig, Swimming, Waikato Secondary Schools Placegetter; Asarina Johnson, Rowing, Girls Under 18 Doubles; Daniel Kits, Athletics, Multiple North Island Champion; Summer Korkie, Equestrian, North Island Secondary Schools Showjumping Placegetter; Kayden Naera, Powerlifting, New Zealand Record Holder; Alex Park, Volleyball, Under 17 National Champion; Kaelyn Strawbridge, Equestrian, Waikato Pony Club Eventing Team.

House Awards:

Kikorangi: Coleman Shield for Swimming, Hull Cup for Cross Country.

Kowhai: College Cup for Softball, College Trophy for Badminton, College Trophy for Touch Rugby, College Trophy for Football, Lenco Cup for Netball.

Pohutukawa: College Shield for Basketball, College Trophy for Volleybal, Ardent Trophy for the best House Spirit in 2023.

Pounamu: Helen Crowe Memorial Trophy for Athletics.

AG Freeman Rosebowl for Interhouse Supremacy in 2023: Kowhai.

Major Sports Awards for 2023:

The Hey Trophy for the Best Performance in a Waikato Secondary School Sporting Event: Premier Girls 1st XI Football.

Many of the team have played together for five years, culminating in a successful 2023 season where they played in their league and the Challenge Cup, winning both, as well as the Country Challenge Cup, the Hillcrest 5-a-side tournament and Senior Girls 1st division.

The Bev Garrett Memorial Trophy for Excellence in Sport: Milla Botha.

Milla Botha (right) with her coach Sharnae Rowland.

Powerlifter Milla Botha won two New Zealand titles in different weight grades this year and in her most recent competition she set an unofficial world record total for her age of 257kg for squat, bench press and deadlift. Competing at the National Championships on Saturday in the Under 60kg class, Milla smashed her previous winning deadlift weights with 120kg and bettered her three-lift total to 262.5kg.

The Tataurangi Family Trophy for Outstanding Performance in an Individual Sport: Blake Novak.

Fittingly this young golfer and captain of the Te Awamutu College Golf team is the recipient of this trophy for an excellent 2023. Highlights are: runner-up, Australian Masters; runner-up, Australian Masters Caddy competition; winner, Cambridge North Island Championship; team captain of the Booth Cup team from Te Awamutu Golf Club; Waikato Golf team member for Inter-provincials; played in the Australian Open and has been invited to play at the New Zealand Nationals in January. Shot a hole-in-one this year and in the Cancer Society 72-hole challenge he raised $18,000 for the fight against cancer, the highest junior fundraiser in New Zealand and second highest individual fundraiser overall.

Tangata Toa o Te Tau Trophy for Sportsperson of the Year: Daniel Kits.

Tangata Toa o Te Tau Trophy for Sportsperson of the Year recipient Daniel Kits. Photo / Dean Taylor

Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at 6 months old and then with ADHD aged 6 years, Daniel has overcome adversity to become an amazing athlete. At the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Secondary Schools athletics championships, he won the Junior Para 100m, Junior Para 200m and Junior Para 400m and qualified for the North Island Secondary Schools Athletics Championships.

There he won Junior Para 100m, Junior Para 400m, in a track record time, and Junior Para 1500m with another track record and PB to complete the year with three Waikato/BOP titles and three North Island titles.

Level One awards for First in Subject: Erika Ballantine, Accounting - Level One Accounting Trophy, Science; Emerson Berry, Music; Jayden Boyle, Outdoor Education; Emily Brier, Biology, Economics & Business Studies - Level One Economics Award; Jacob Cochrane, Sport and Recreation Studies; Sam Comins, Mathematics, Photography; Eva Davis, Graphics & Design; Rebekah Dewar, Digital Skills for Employment; Rico Dorssers, English; Ruth Downs, Furniture Making - Whitecliffs Prize, Sports Science; Gemma Gosling, Agricultural Science - Parawera School Cup,Mathematics & Statistics; Blake Gower, ChemPhys, Digital Technology Computing - PB Tech Prize, Electronics, English Extension - Level One English Cup, Mathematics & Statistics Extension - Paul Hobbs Cup; Libby Haynes, Food Technology - Cellar Cup; Libby Hickford, Drama, Health, History; Liam Hollinshead, Carpentry - Whitecliffs Prize; Briar Hopkins, New Zealand Certificate in Foundation Skills; Kane Kennedy, Science (Internal Assessment); Daniel Kits, Practical Music; Ashlee Mills, Visual Art - Michael Douch Memorial Award; Ella Patterson, English Literacy; Braiden Peake, Engineering - Stewart and Cavalier Prize; Katie Stairmand, Practical Science; Dejah Stojanovic-Stark, Geography, Te Reo Maori; Nevaeh Wallace, Dance, Social Issues; Alex West, Horticulture.

Level Two awards for First in Subject: Ty Alexander, Practical Music; Jacob Chetwin, Accounting - Level Two Accounting Cup, Mathematics & Statistics with Calculus - Paul Corboy Cup; Avé Culpan, Sports Science, Visual Art; Summer Dawson, Communication Skills; Elana Dickson, Electronics; Febe Disher, Childcare; Casey Dixon, Graphics & Design - Bob Bradley Graphics & Design Trophy; Ben Fitzpatrick, Digital Skills for Employment; Olivia Fletcher, Photography; Erana Harper, History; Mia Higham, Food Technology; Luke Hobbs, Engineering - Bob Berg Memorial Award in Engineering - Stewart and Cavalier Prize; Isla Joyce, Art - Design, English; Avleen Kaur, Biology - Glanville Cup, Chemistry - Devlin Cup, English Extension - Helen Kelly Cup, Mathematics & Statistics Physics - Edmund Halley Cup, Keith Millar Cup for Excellence in Sciences; Summer Korkie, Agricultural Science - Lea Family Trophy, Horticulture - James Saunders Cup, Mathematics Science (Internal Assessment), Sport and Recreation Studies; Olivia Loft, Social Issues; Blake Morrison, Carpentry - Bob Berg Memorial Award for Excellence in Carpentry - Mitre 10 Mega Prize, Furniture Making - Mitre 10 Mega Prize; Jeremy Murfitt, Digital Technology Computing - PB Tech Prize; Sophie Parr, Economics & Business Studies - Level Two Economics Award; Georgie Rewha, Dance; Penelope Rice, Hospitality - Redoubt Cup; Emma Riggs, Health; Nevaeh Scott, Tourism & Travel; Sienna Sutton, Senior Sport Elite; Marie Tamaki-Fisk, Geography - Bruce Taylor Cup; Craig Walker, Outdoor Education – Tai Poutini Polytechnic Award; Reed Waugh, Drama, Media Studies; Sophie Yarndley, Performance Music.

Level Three awards for First in Subject: Chloe Caddy, Geography - McMurray Cup, History - Han Bergman Cup, Senior Council Cup for the Humanities; Ashlee Coldrick, Photography - Photolife Award; Shontelle Corbett, Social Issues; Kaeden Cresswell, Chemistry - McKinnon Cup, Economics & Business Studies - Sherwin Family Award, Earth and Space Science - Kravchenko Cup, Physics - Rutherford Cup, Matthewson Cup for Excellence in the Sciences; Breanna Doig, Biology - K F Miller Cup, Mathematics with Calculus - George Waring Cup for Excellence in Mathematics with Calculus; Johanna Downs, Art - Sculpture; Stephanie Hill, Health - Waikato Graduate Women Educational Trust Prize, Performance Music; Taylor Lincoln, Agricultural Studies - Te Awamutu College Rogers Charitable Trust Prize and Trophy; Holly Lindsay, Hospitality - Waikato Culinary Fare Trust Cup; Nina Lugtu, Mathematics & Statistics - Bill Crombie Cup; Alexander Mather. Digital Technology Computing - PB Tech Prize, Electronics - Stewart and Cavalier Prize; Tara MOrris, Media Studies; Mariana Puarere, Dance; Stella Quigley, English Sports Science - Keith Bain Cup; Kate Shannon, Outdoor Education - Wintec Excellence in the Outdoors Cup; Zion Slavich, Digital Skills for Employment; Molly Stokes, English Extension - Cath Parr Cup; Senior English Essay Cup; Tamsen Taylor, Tourism & Travel - Waikato Graduate Women Educational Trust Prize; Olivia Turnbull, Mathematics; Mishke Van Rooyen, Graphics & Design - Noel Cox Cup - Paperplus Prize; Leah Walker, Accounting - Level Three Accounting Cup; Mike Wanoa, Sport and Recreation Studies; Logan Whale, Senior Sport Elite; Jessamine Whitmarsh, Art - Design, Art - Painting, Visual Arts Department Trophy.

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